Josh Hamilton, Mike Scioscia meet; return still up in air

— -- HOUSTON -- Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia met with Josh Hamilton this week for the first time in months, and says he isn't sure when the star will return to the team.

Scioscia said he had dinner with Hamilton on Wednesday night when the Angels arrived in Houston for a series that begins Friday night. It was the first time Scioscia had seen the slugger since his self-reported relapse into substance abuse.

Scioscia says the former American League MVP is making progress in his recovery from offseason shoulder surgery.

The manager declined to discuss many details of their meeting, except to say that Hamilton is running and hitting and that "there's still some work he has to do before he's ready to play a game."

Scioscia added that they're "still searching for some clarity to the situation and only time's going to give that to us."

Several Angels players met with Hamilton as well, among them longtime friend C.J. Wilson and David Freese.

Wilson, who also was teammates with Hamilton on the Texas Rangers from 2008 to '11, told MLB.com that Hamilton is "ready to go."

"It's my 100 percent opinion that Josh is not a risk to himself or anybody else," Wilson told the website. "That's what I feel having known him for eight years. That's the closest thing I can get to a factual opinion."

Freese expressed similar sentiments.

"It was good to see him," he told MLB.com. "I thought he was good in really good spirits. The fact is he wants to play some baseball. And he's ready to roll."

He added: "The lack of knowledge that's going on can be frustrating, because this is a guy we care about. This is our team. Sooner or later, things will come out and we'll all know what's going on and whether he's coming back with the Angels or he's not."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.